Sun Microsystems
Sun also said a new development kit — Sun ONE Studio for Java 4.1 — is Monday
launched a refresher of its application server platform geared toward
leveraging the Java language into its product line for more fluid Web
services deployment.
The Palo Alto, Calif. concern said Sun One Application Server 7 is J2EE 1.3
compliant and supports the Java Web Services Developer Pack to provide tools
and platform for Web services such as SOAP
Rick Schultz, Grid Marketing Manager for Sun One Java Web Services, told
internetnews.com that the release marks a new modular approach,
complete with new codebase and architecture for Sun’s application server
development.
Sun One Application Server 7 will unfold in three versions, including a
platform and standard edition, which are available immediately, and an
enterprise edition, slated for a March 2003 release.
The Sun One Application Server 7 Platform edition is free and will be
tightly integrated into the company’s flagship operating system offering
Solaris 9 in January, according to Schultz. Its architecture consists of
J2EE 1.3, Web Services and an HTTP Server. This package is available in
Solaris and Windows today; Linux within 60 days; and HP-UX and AIX in 90
days.
The standard addition, complete with remote managing capabilities and
multi-tier deployment, will cost $2,000 per CPU. As the company’s fullest
Web services software package yet, the enterprise edition will feature
higher functionality through clustering features, courtesy of the company’s
acquisition of Clustra Systems last
March, as well as Web tier load balancing and advanced session
replication.
ready. This pack includes support for JWSDP and enables bi-directional
development of Java Web Services.
Schultz said Macromedia, Novell and HP are some of the firms supporting the
release, and pledged more customer momentum for Sun ONE Java Web Services
and Sun ONE App Server 7, as well as more product integration across the Sun
ONE Java Web Services stack.
Sun faces heated competition in the application server market, where it
battles the likes of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and BEA to name a few. All of
these firms’ app server upgrades come standard with boasts of faster
performance than rivals’ products.
But does such jockeying for position in the market really matter right now?
After all, some research firms have turned bearish about the promise of Web
services following the hype of the last two years. IDC said that while Web
services are being successfully deployed to unify heterogeneous
environments, software-as-a-service is ten years away.
“…Most of the Web services vision is just pure speculation, with no real
consideration of what is achievable and what it will cost to actually build
out the vision for full use on the open Internet,” said Rikki Kirzner,
research director for IDC’s Application Design and Construction Tools
service.
Kirzner argued that Web services will have to be built primarily from
software components and elements that must be identified, located, accessed,
and dynamically assembled into turnkey applications. Unfortunately, she
said, the reality is that this model cannot be implemented in its entirety
using current technologies and application development methodologies.
Sun One Application Server 7 Debuts
